Hoist conversion unit for small tractors

ABSTRACT

The invention comprises an attachment for a hoist assembly for attachment to a self-powered vehicle having a front power takeoff comprising; a gear case assembly coupled to the fore frame of the tractor; a shaft extending horizontally through said gear case; a reeling drum and a ratchet wheel mounted on said shaft; a releasable pawl mounted on said gear case assembly for engagement with said ratchet wheel, a hoisting boom having means for mounting on the fore frame of the tractor, brace means for said boom supported on said gear case assembly and a cable trained around said reeling drum and extending over the upper end of said boom.

United States Patent Run- HOIST CONVERSION UNIT FOR SMALL TRACTORS JohnF. Burr, 32 N. Kanawha St., Buckhannon, W. Va. 26201 Filed: Feb. 17,1972 Appl. No.: 226,578

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 57,941, July 24, 1970.

Inventor:

US. Cl 254/l39.l; 254/166 Int. Cl. B66c 23/60 Field of Search 254/139.1,145, 166, 186,

Largen 254/139.l Burr 254/166 3,669,410 6/1972 Burr 254/166 X PrimaryExaminer-James B. Marbert Assistant ExaminerJames L. Rowland Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Gardiner, Sixbey, Bradford & Carlson 57 ABSTRACT Theinvention comprises an attachment for a hoist as sembly for attachmentto a self-powered vehicle having a front power takeoff comprising; agear case assembly coupled to the fore frame of the tractor; a shaftextending horizontally through said gear case; a reeling drum and aratchet wheel mounted on said shaft; a releasable pawl mounted on saidgear case assembly for engagement with said ratchet wheel, a hoistingboom having means'for mounting on the fore frame of the tractor, bracemeans for said boom supported on said gear case assembly and a cabletrained around said reeling drum and extending over the upper end ofsaid boom.

2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures IIOIST CONVERSION UNIT FOR SMALL TRACTORSThis is a division of application Serial No. 57,941, filed July 24,1970.

The invention is directed toward auxiliary equipment for relativelysmall, general-purpose two and four wheeled tractors whereby the utilityof such tractors is expanded to the area of lifting devices. Moreparticularly, the invention is concerned with a hoist attachment forso-called two and four wheeled gardcn" tractors.

, The advent of small, reliable internal combustion engines has enabledvarious manufactures of agricultural equipment to engineer and marketsmall tractors particularly adapted for use on small farms, estates, andthe like. These vehicles are manufactured in either twowheeled,hand-guided form or in more conventional four-wheeled or riding tractorform. A companion line of attachments is available for use with suchvehicles, these including wagons, plows, cultivators, spreaders and thelike. Even more recently, power takeoff attachments have come into vogueto render such tractors much more versatile in operation and use.

One of the most well-known and widely-marketed lines of two andfour-wheeled tractors, of the type of interest here, is the Gravely linemanufactured by Gravely Tractor Co. and sold nationwide through factoryauthorized outlets. This line of tractors features among otherattributes a front-mounted power takeoff which when attached to thebasic vehicle enables its use in a variety of situations where the powerof the internal combustion engine proves advantageous for other reasonsthan merely to propel the vehicle. In earlier issued US. Pat. No.3,313,524 of Apr. 11, 1967 to John F. Burr, there is disclosed a typicalGravely two-wheeled tractor with an auxiliary power takeoff attachmentfixed to the forepart of the tractor. The attachment not only convertsthe two-wheeled vehicle to a four-wheeled vehicle for general utilitywith a variety of power-operated tools but, as claimed in the patent, asuitable winding drum is provided wherein the combination may be used asa portable winch.

It is with this combination that the present invention is concernedwhereby the combination is rendered more versatile as a portable hoist.The present invention, also enables conversion of four-wheeled vehiclesinto portable hoists by utilizing the same basic power takeoffattachment in association with a boom structure.

Having outlined the background of the concept in general terms, a fulland complete understanding of the invention will be derived from theappended drawings and following descriptive material wherein FIG. 1 isan overall side view of a four-wheeled tractor converted into a portablehoist,

FIG. 2 is a side view of a two-wheeled tractor converted into a portablehoist,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the pawl and ratchet assembly takenfrom the opposite side as the view of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the side view of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a front view of the gear casing shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 withthe vehicle background removed for clarity,

FIG. 6 is a front view of the tractor and hoist combination shown inFIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1,while FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a mountingbracket assembly.

Considering first FIG. 1 it will be seen that there is shown afour-wheeled tractor 10 having steering wheels 2 and rear driving wheels4. The engine compartment 6 is disposed forwardly of the vehicle whichis also provided with a forward frame 8 serving to carry same and, aswill be seen, the forward power takeoff connection to be described.

As is obvious the operator of the vehicle is seated therein on seat 12when the vehicle is in operation and the various controls to operate thevehicle such as steering wheel 14 are arranged for convenience adjacentthe operators station or seat 12.

The power takeoff attachment is affixed to the forward area of frame 8as will be described and is operated by conventional controls (notshown) whereby the engine may be declutched from driving wheels 4 andclutched to the power takeoff shaft 12 which extends forwardly beneathframe 8 as is conventional in the art.

As shown in FIG. 1 and also enlarged FIG. 2, the forepart of frame 8 isprovided with depending brackets 14, (only one shown). The brackets 14extend diagonally forwardly and downwardly and, in turn, support a powertakeoff mount 16 which extends across the front of the vehicle and whichsupports the forward end of power takeoff shaft 12 and also forms amounting means for the power takeoff assembly 20 again this ar-.

rangement being conventional in the art and described in detail in U.S.Pat. No. 3,313,524.

At the center of the mount 16, coincident with the centerline of thevehicle, there is removably fixed a power takeoff assembly 20 which iscomprised of a gear case 18 having a driven gear which is engageablewith a through-shaft 24, all as shown in US. Pat. No. 3,313,524. Atubular extension 22 serves as a support for gear case 18; saidextension being bolted to the mount 16 and also to gear case 18.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4 in particular, it may be seen thatthrough-shaft 24 has both of its ends disposed outwardly of gear case18. The right-hand end (as viewed facing toward the front of tractor 10)has mounted thereon a cable reeling drum 26. This drum may be of thesame type as disclosed in Burr U.S. Pat. No. 3,313,524 or an equivalentdesign, that is fixed to shaft 24 so as to rotate therewith. Theleft-hand end of shaft 24 has mounted thereon a ratchet wheel 28 ofconventional design said wheel being also affixed on the shaft forrotation therewith. The ratchet wheel 28 has generally arcuate teethwhich curve forwardly (see FIG. 4), said teeth being spaced apart asufficient dis tance to receive therebetween a pin 32 mounted on lever34. Pin 32 and lever 34 define a pawl which can be actuated by controlrod 36 attached to control arm 38 as will be subsequently described.

Considering again FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that a hoisting boomassembly 40 is mounted on the forepart of tractor frame 8 and braced bya compression strut against the top of gear case 18. Boom assembly 40includes a yoke 42 which is bolted to the frame 8 of tractor 10 by thesame bolts 44 that attach members 12 to said frame. As shown,particularly in FIG. 7, yoke 42 is formed of channel members which aresuitably welded together. The cross member 44 of yoke 42 is providedwith a pair of spaced. parallel plates 46, 48, which plates receivetherebetween the end of the boom proper which may be fabricated of twochannels welded together in face-to-face relation to form a gen erallybox-shaped cross section all as shown in FIG. 7.

The. boom 40 is provided at its upper terminal end with a pulley 52mounted in a purely conventional manner. A cable 54 is trained overpulley 52; its free end provided with a hook 56 or any other knownhoisting implement. The other end of cable 54 is wrapped around drum 26as is shown in Pat. No. 3,313,524 or in known arrangements in the art.

In order to brace the boom 40, a compression strut v 58 is affixedthereto and extends generally vertically downward so that its lower endis supported on gear case 18. At this lower end the strut is providedwith a pad 62 and a pair of spaced angles 64, 64' defining a saddlewhich rests on gear case 18.

The operation of the device is relatively obvious The tractorengine isclutched to power takeoff shaft 12 and via gear case 18 and shaft 24 tothe winding drum 26. When an item is being lifted, i.e. the shaft 24 isturning counter clockwise as viewed in FIG. 4, the pawl is automaticallydisengaged from ratchet wheel 28 due to the shape of the teeth thereof.When a load is to be lowered the shaft 24 is rotated just enough torelease pawl pin 32 from ratchet wheel 28 and is held free by operatorsmanipulation of control rod 36. By manipulation of the tractor clutchthe load can be lowered onto whatever surface it is to be deposited.

Turning now to FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, a modification of the invention isdisclosed wherein the hoist combination is adaptable to a two-wheeledoperator-guided described in Burr Pat. No. 3,313,524.

The boom assembly 40 is modified to the extent that it is provided withan A-frame 70 comprised of two downwardly diverging legs 72, 72' andcross member '74 all fabricated of any suitable structural material suchas metal angle iron or the like. The upper ends of arms 72 are,preferably, removably affixed as by bolts 76 to boom assembly 40 so thatthe frame extends downwardly forwardly of and to either side of wheels68. The A-frame thus serves as a stabilizer.

In addition to the mentioned changes, it should be noted that theconnection of the boom assembly 40 to the tractor frame is also somewhatdifferent in that yoke 42 is dispensed with. In its stead there isprovided a simple extension 78 which is attached to the end thereof by aplate and bolt connection 92, 94. The terminal end of extension 78.isseated in a bracket assembly 90 which assembly is shown in FIG. 8 withthe extension 78 outlined in phantom lines.

As shown in FIG. 8, the bracket assembly 90 consists of a plate 92 whichis disposed transverse to the front of the tractor and is bolted thereonby the same bolts 23 which attach extension 22 to the tractor powertakeoff housing 86. Fixed, as by welding to plate 92 are a pair ofparallel boom connectors 94, 94' between which the end of boom extension78 is positioned. Suitable bolts (not shown) serve as the connectormeans between connectors 94, 94' and extension 78.

Also mounted on plate 92 and comprising a part of bracket assembly is anL-shaped pawl support 96 which serves as the means for pivotalconnection of pawl arms 98, 98' to the combination of FIG. 5 and arms34, 34' as shown in FIG. 1.

The boom assembly also includes the compression strut 58 which rests ongear case 18, all as previously described in connection with FIG. I.

The operation and function of the apparatus of FIG. 5 et seq. isobviously the same as that described in connection with the FIG. 1disclosure.

Having thus described the novel concepts of the hoist conversion indetail, it is believed that various modifications and changes will beapparent to those skilled in the art; which modifications and changesare within the spirit and scope of the claims wherein:

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a two wheeled, self propelled tractor having aninternal combustion engine and a front accessable power takeoff assemblydrivingly engaged to said engine; a power takeoff driven hoistconversion unit mounted on and drivingly connected to said frontaccessable power takeoff assembly, said unit comprising a gear case; atubular extension interposed between said gear case and said frontaccessable power takeoff assembly, of said tractor, a power driven shaftextending horizontally from said gear case to either side thereof; areeling drum mounted on one end of said shaft; a toothed ratchet wheelmounted on the other end of the shaft; pawl means mounted on saidtubular housing and releasably engaging said toothed ratchet wheel toprevent its rotation in one direction only; a tubular wheel supportedframe extension affixed to said gear case and extending horizontallyforwardly therefrom; a boom extending at an angle forwardly and upwardlyover said gear case and said wheel supported frame extension, the lowerterminal end of said boom including connection means connecting saidlower end to the fore part of the tractor adjacent said front accessablepower takeoff assembly; and a frame stabilizing means connected to saidboom adjacent its upper terminal end and having diverging, groundcontacting legs extending downwardly and forwardly of said tubular,wheel supported frame extension; a Pulley rotatably journaled in theupper terminal end of said boom; cable means trained over said Pulleyand wrapped on said reeling drum; a brace means having its lower endbearing upon said gear case and its upper end attached to said boom andoperator means for operating said pawl extending rcarwardly of saidtractor for operation by the tractor operation.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said wheel supportedtubular frame extension includes a pair of wheels and means connectingsaid wheels to said extension to permit vertical adjustmenttherebetween.

1. In combination with a two wheeled, self propelled tractor having aninternal combustion engine and a front accessable power takeoff assemblydrivingly engaged to said engine; a power takeoff driven hoistconversion unit mounted on and drivingly connected to said frontaccessable power takeoff assembly, said unit comprising a gear case; atubular extension interposed between said gear case and said frontaccessable power takeoff assembly, of said tractor, a power driven shaftextending horizontally from said gear case to either side thereof; areeling drum mounted on one end of said shaft; a toothed ratchet wheelmounted on the other end of the shaft; pawl means mounted on saidtubular housing and releasably engaging said toothed ratchet wheel toprevent its rotation in one direction only; a tubular wheel supportedframe extension affixed to said gear case and extending horizontallyforwardly therefrom; a boom extending at an angle forwardly and upwardlyover said gear case and said wheel supported frame extension, the lowerterminal end of said boom including connection means connecting saidlower end to the fore part of the tractor adjacent said front accessablepower takeoff assembly; and a frame stabilizing means connected to saidboom adjacent its upper terminal end and having diverging, groundcontacting legs extending downwardly and forwardly of said tubular,wheel supported frame extension; a Pulley rotatably journaled in theupper terminal end of said boom; cable means trained over said Pulleyand wrapped on said reeling drum; a brace means having its lower endbearing upon said gear case and its upper end attached to said boom andoperator means for operating said pawl extending rearwardly of saidtractor for operation by the tractor operation.
 2. The combinationdefined in claim 1 wherein said wheel supported tubular frame extensionincludes a pair of wheels and means connecting said wheels to saidextension to permit vertical adjustment therebetween.